Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series on significant factors impacting Bearden students’ college choices. The second installment will be on how the traditional success of a school’s athletics department impacts student interest in a school, and the final will be on how weather and location affect student thinking.
As the class of 2025 approaches graduation, many look towards four-year colleges to continue their education. Most students have already completed the application process for their potential colleges. However, some students applied early and have already received college decisions. Many students have already decided on a college to go to in the fall, while others wait to receive more decisions. The students who just finished their regular applications await the decisions from colleges to come.
When choosing a college or even what colleges to apply to, there are many factors that go into the decisions. Those factors include student life, academics, dining, major availability, tradition in sports, and – for many – the quality of housing available freshman year and beyond.
The Bark asked Bearden students about the priorities they have when looking at housing while touring colleges. Generally students looked for new housing. Some also specifically didn’t want a communal bathroom. It was also important to some students to have a suite-style dorm so they could have their own space.
“For housing, I wanted a bit of privacy while still being able to meet people, so a suite-style dorm is what I’m hoping for,” senior Carson McVeigh said.
Schools across the country seem to have recognized that in order to stay an attractive option with many students, they have to offer newer construction with more amenities – in other words, dorms that counter some of the more dingy, unpleasant stereotypes.
UT Knoxville opened Dogwood Hall and Magnolia Hall in 2019, and they plan to open two new residential facilities this fall. Alabama, meanwhile, opened two new dorms in 2022, and they are currently building another. Many more of the top schools that Bearden students annually consider are also following suit.
And most students are keeping a close eye on that process.
“I looked for housing with a separate bathroom and also something that isn’t super old,” senior Hannah Pilon said. “I knew I didn’t want to share a communal bathroom, and I also wanted it to be a nicer, newer dorm.”
Some students decided not to apply to a college if they found out that the school had poor housing.
“If there were any colleges that had a reputation for having bad housing or just had poor living arrangements, then I chose not to apply because my living situation will affect my college experience,” senior Gresham Sowa said.
When making the decision to look at schools farther from Knoxville, students said that nice housing was a significant factor.
“For out of state schools, nice housing could definitely improve my odds of going there, since I’d have to live in the dorms for at least 4 years,” senior Aiden Vinh said.
Students also stated that having poor housing would directly affect their mental wellbeing in college. Constant issues would ultimately lead to high stress levels and unhappiness.
“I feel like if the housing is subpar, it is an added stress…whereas if the housing was already on the nicer end, you wouldn’t have to try so hard and look over a lot of the things to be able to create a stress-free environment for yourself,” senior Nicci Smith said.
Added Sowa: “It would be one less thing I have to stress about or think about. I’d prefer my living situation to be something that I take for granted rather than be miserable going through it.”
Some students even worry for their physical health when choosing a dorm. Older buildings on college campuses can have mold, mildew, and other harmful chemicals to students’ health.
“People get sick from dorms,” senior Lorena Rodriguez said.
This can also have a negative effect on students’ academic performance. Many said that they need a nice space to be able to study properly.
“It all comes down to the environment when studying, and a good environment can help educational growth,” senior Arya Kirpekar said.
Added Rodriguez: “If I have a nice dorm, I can actually sit down and focus.”
For many students that are moving away from home for the first time, having nice housing can lessen the burden of being away from home. For students going several hours away from home, this can be very significant.
“Having nice housing would improve my college experience because I feel like it would make me more comfortable and feel more at home in a new place,” senior Cate Carter said. “My room is like a safe space, and it would be nice to have that when I am not living at home.”
Added senior Cami Ritzman: “I’m gonna be happier because I’m in that room all of the time, and it needs to be something that’s comforting to me. I want it to feel homey because even now my room is really like my safe place, and I just love being in my room.”
Although nice housing is the preference, many students believe that they can make any housing situation work for them. They can do this through decor and expressing themselves. This helps to make their housing feel more homey and a comfortable place.
“I don’t think having nice housing would affect my college decision because I feel like in most places dorms aren’t the nicest anyways,” Carter said. “ I also feel like wherever I go, I can make my housing feel homey and nice with decorations.”
For some students, housing isn’t a top priority. Typical college housing fulfills their needs.
“I wasn’t very picky about housing when looking into colleges, but I appreciated well-maintained buildings, options for doubles or singles, and bathrooms that only had to be shared with one other person,” Vinh said.
Other students’ preference in housing came down to their own individual needs – ranging from “I didn’t want to clean my own bathroom” (senior Grace Page) to “whether or not the dorm had a kitchen” (Sowa).
Although this is a stressful time for the class of 2025 seniors, students are exploring their future and making big decisions for the next few years of their lives, and the room where they’ll end up spending the majority of their time is playing a big role in making that choice.